Vorarlberg

Vorarlberg is the westernmost state of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is the state with the second-highest population density. It borders three countries: Germany, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. The only Austrian state that shares a border with Vorarlberg is Tyrol, to the east.

The capital of Vorarlberg is Bregenz, although Dornbirn and Feldkirch have larger populations. Vorarlberg is also the only state in Austria in which the local dialect is not Austro-Bavarian, but rather an Alemannic dialect; it therefore has much more in common culturally with Alemannic-speaking German-speaking Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Baden-Württemberg, Bavarian Swabia, and Alsace than with the rest of Austria, southeastern Bavaria, and South Tyrol.